I was only familiar with Fisher Stevens from the 1986 film, Short Circuit, so imagine my surprise when I watched the heart-wrenching and Academy Award-winning documentary, The Cove, and discovered Stevens was a co-director.  It looks like Stevens will step back behind the camera once again for an adaptation of Philip Roth’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, American Pastoral.  This fictionalized account follows the protagonist, Seymour “Swede” Levov, who not only achieves the American dream, but loses it in dramatic fashion when his daughter becomes a political activist and terrorist during the Vietnam War.  American Pastoral, adapted by John Romano (The Lincoln Lawyer) is set to start principal photography early next year.  Hit the jump for more.

The Lincoln Laywer was a solid hit for Lionsgate, grossing over $85 million worldwide and surprising critics to the tune of 83% on Rotten Tomatoes.  Factor in recent success on home video and a renewable premise, and The Lincoln Lawyer is ripe for franchising.  First stop: TV!  Variety reports ABC has ordered a pilot script for a proposed drama series from Lincoln Lawyer screenwriter John Romano and Michael Connelly, the author of the source novel.

Connelly has written five novels about charismatic defense attorney Mickey Haller, so the writers won’t lack for inspiration at the outset.  The series likely won’t stray too far from your typical procedural — one case per week, solved at the end of the show.  The twist, of course, is Haller’s peculiar choice in offices: a Lincoln Town Car.  I assume Matthew McConaughey will not reprise his feature role on a weekly TV series.  His brand of charm could be hard to replicate, but it’s a plum lead role  for the actor who gets it.  I speak as if the project is going straight to series, when really only one script has been ordered.  But this seems like a sure thing.  I imagine we’ll hear more about The Lincoln Lawyer: The TV Series in the near future.

Read a synopsis of Connelly’s novel after the break.

Lionsgate has released a new trailer for The Lincoln Lawyer, an adaptation of the best selling novel by Michael Connelly.  Matthew McConaughey stars as Mickey Haller, “a Los Angeles criminal defense attorney who operates out of the back of his Lincoln sedan.”  Ryan Phillippe, Marisa Tomei, William H. Macy, Josh Lucas, John Leguizamo, Michael Pena, and Bryan Cranston also star.  Brad Furman (The Take) directs from a script by John Romano (Nights in Rodanthe).  Check out the new trailer after the jump.

Back in October, we heard that Tommy Lee Jones and Matthew McConaughey were teaming up for an adaptation of the Michael Connelly novel The Lincoln Lawyer, with Jones set to direct.  Sadly, Jones bowed out a month later (those darn “creative differences”), but the cast is shaping up nicely regardless.  According to Variety, Lionsgate just picked up the domestic distribution rights for Lawyer after the flick recently recruited Marissa Tomei, William H. Macy, and Ryan Phillippe to co-star alongside McConaughey.

Brad Furman (The Take) will replace Jones in the director’s chair for the July production.  The adapted script from John Romano (Intolerable Cruelty) outlines a legal thriller centered around a defense attorney whose Lincoln Town Car doubles as an office.  You’ll find a full plot synopsis for Connelly’s novel after the break.